Simon's 450

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ca1ore

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Mix of copper and pex. I had a bunch of copper on hand, plus I like sweating fittings (is that weird?).
 
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I go through periods of boredom with my tank; usually coinciding with Summer. Very little has changed but I’ll take a few pictures.
 

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I go through periods of boredom with my tank; usually coinciding with Summer. Very little has changed but I’ll take a few pictures.
Well I know you have been working on a new technical improvement but that stuff only gets me excited if it includes pictures of the frankenstein room or the tank. ;Woot
 
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I need to do a proper update. It’s travel season for me at work. Business travel is only appealing to folks that don’t have to do it. Ugh!
 

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I need to do a proper update. It’s travel season for me at work. Business travel is only appealing to folks that don’t have to do it. Ugh!
Ain’t that the truth. My wife has to travel to hq in Paris every quarter- the first two times she was stoked. Trip number 7, not so much
 
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Exactly …. just came back from Vegas ….. visit # 55 (or thereabouts).
 
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Summer is usually when my tank gets a bit neglected. Early Fall is worse. System is ok. Had a couple of long held SPS colonies go RTN on me. I’ve recently added a sulfur denitrator to try to address climbing nitrates.

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, .....

though it takes a while to build up capacity. The heat exchanger has proven to be a disappointment and I’m exploring redress with the seller. Here are a few pictures from today.
 
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I’m not particularly sentimental about my fish. I do have my favorites though. One was my dusky wrasse, purchased on a whim back in early 2013. While I don’t recommend whimsical fish purchases - research then buy, not the other way around - sometimes you get lucky. Dusky wrasse has been an excellent fish, absolutely (and literally) murder on pests of all kinds. Cleared out a pyramid snail infestation, controlled an outbreak of red planaria worms, even ate the occasional bristle worm. OK, he also ate my CUC ..... but, hey, nobody’s perfect! He’d been looking a little worse for wear over the last few months and gradually losing weight even as he continued to eat with the same gusto. I’m not sure how long wrasses like these can be expected to live. I had him for almost 7 years and I don’t know how old he was when I got him. Anyhow, the last few days he’s not reappeared in the morning. Not a fish one sees very often, and usually miscategorized as not reef safe, but when I see one again I shall buy it. Gets big, 6-7 inches, but highly recommended for policing larger tanks. Some of my leopard wrasse are of comparable vintage, including a jeweled that I’d also be bummed to lose. None of them show age related deterioration yet though. It is interesting that my bipartitus had been female for over five years then, as the dusky started to deteriorate, turned male literally overnight. Coincidence perhaps .... or perhaps not.
 

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I’m not particularly sentimental about my fish. I do have my favorites though. One was my dusky wrasse, purchased on a whim back in early 2013. While I don’t recommend whimsical fish purchases - research then buy, not the other way around - sometimes you get lucky. Dusky wrasse has been an excellent fish, absolutely (and literally) murder on pests of all kinds. Cleared out a pyramid snail infestation, controlled an outbreak of red planaria worms, even ate the occasional bristle worm. OK, he also ate my CUC ..... but, hey, nobody’s perfect! He’d been looking a little worse for wear over the last few months and gradually losing weight even as he continued to eat with the same gusto. I’m not sure how long wrasses like these can be expected to live. I had him for almost 7 years and I don’t know how old he was when I got him. Anyhow, the last few days he’s not reappeared in the morning. Not a fish one sees very often, and usually miscategorized as not reef safe, but when I see one again I shall buy it. Gets big, 6-7 inches, but highly recommended for policing larger tanks. Some of my leopard wrasse are of comparable vintage, including a jeweled that I’d also be bummed to lose. None of them show age related deterioration yet though. It is interesting that my bipartitus had been female for over five years then, as the dusky started to deteriorate, turned male literally overnight. Coincidence perhaps .... or perhaps not.
That is one of the best parts of reefing. :) I had a dusky wrasse and only kept him for 2 years or so.. but I wish I had kept him. He had a unique color compared to every wrasse from that genus I usually see for sale. Took me awhile to identify him actually. He decimated my cuc. He was in 90 gallon and it was just too small, I thought. He was so fun to watch though!
 
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Found the carcas tonight .... CUC were working it .... turnabout fair play I suppose.
 
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I need to do a proper update. It’s travel season for me at work. Business travel is only appealing to folks that don’t have to do it. Ugh!

This is true. Last year I was doing a lot of the longer haul trips and the only way I found enjoyment from it was stopping on the way home somewhere I've not been. Only time it is difficult is if I have to swap carriers but I can usually find something without doing that. I'm just a peon so have to fly economy. 24 - 32 hours on a plane gets a bit old.
 
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400 (by volume); 450 (by convention) has been up a little more than two years now. Not entirely without issues (where's the fun in that), but mostly smooth …..

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Same 'camera' in both shots with effort to represent the tank in picture as I see it with my own eyes (so no unrealistic florescence). Nutrient levels have been creeping up. Phosphates hit almost 0.2 and nitrates above 50. No algae issues, but appreciable slowing of SPS growth. I also recently lost a couple of older, large colonies - perhaps related to nutrient levels, perhaps unrelated. Made a number of changes to the system over the last year:

1. Got tired of wrestling with my pondmaster UV so replaced it with the TMC110 - much less fiddly
2. Modified a MTC HSA3000 skimmer - so I'll now never need another skimmer
3. Built a bigger ATS to try to better deal with nutrients - helped certainly
4. Added a sulfur denitrator to better deal with nutrients - cautiously optimistic
5. Built a bigger CaRx - partly because my old one was getting old and partly just …… because …..
6. Moving to a heat exchanger for both heating and cooling - still a work in progress.

Otherwise tank mostly just ticks along. Too many fish, so as they die I am not replacing them. When I do, it'll be more damsels.
 

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Very nice update. Still one of my favorite all time tanks and threads to follow. So what damsels would you like to add? And why damsels?
I am always amazed at what you do to modify and improve equipment. It is outside of my range of knowledge and skill to do that kinda thing. I tinker.
 
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I mostly have all the large fish I can fit; plus I've become quite enamored of large groups of small fish. If I'm still into the hobby when I retire, and build the truly huge tank I've long envisioned, my plan would be to have more damsels than any other home reef. 200 maybe :D.

As to the building stuff …. I just get bored if I don't have a project (and hope I dont flood the basement ….. again). Tinkering is good too.
 

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That is pretty cool. I like groups of smaller fish too. I loved schools of danios or rummy nose tetras when I had freshwater tanks. My 180 sports 7 azure damsels, but I wish I had added them last.
 

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I love your passion for damsels! My goal is a small school, of like 15-20 azure damsels. But like you I like schools of smaller fish (Anthias, damsels, chromis, etc)
 

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This is looking great, Simon!
 

A worm with high fashion and practical utility: Have you ever kept feather dusters in your reef aquarium?

  • I currently have feather dusters in my tank.

    Votes: 68 37.8%
  • Not currently, but I have had feather dusters in my tank in the past.

    Votes: 59 32.8%
  • I have not had feather dusters, but I hope to in the future.

    Votes: 25 13.9%
  • I have no plans to have feather dusters in my tank.

    Votes: 28 15.6%
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